scholarly journals Microgeographic variation in body condition of three Mexican garter snakes in central Mexico

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Valencia-Flores ◽  
Crystian S Venegas-Barrera ◽  
Victor Fajardo ◽  
Javier Manjarrez
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Garter Snakes ◽  
Good Body Condition ◽  
Microgeographic Variation ◽  
Similar Body

Background. Geographic variation in body size and condition can reveal differential local adaptation to resource availability or climatic factors. Body size and condition are related to fitness in garter snakes (Thamnophis), thus good body condition may increase survival, fecundity in females, and mating success in males. Sympatric species are predicted to exhibit similar body condition when they experience similar environmental conditions. We focused on interspecific and geographical variation in body size and condition in three sympatric Mexican garter snakes from the highlands of Central Mexico. Methods. We assessed SVL, mass, and body condition (obtained from Major axis linear regression of ln-transformed body mass on ln-transformed SVL) in adults and juveniles of both sexes of Thamnophis eques, T. melanogaster, and T. scalaris sampled at different locations and over a 20-year period. Results. We provide a heterogeneous pattern of sexual and ontogenic reproductive status variations of body size and condition among local populations. Each garter snake species shows locations with good and poor body condition; juvenile snakes show similar body condition between populations, adults show varying body condition between populations, and adults also show sexual differences in body condition. We discuss variations in body condition as possibly related to the snakes’ life cycle differences.

scholarly journals Microgeographic variation in body condition of three Mexican garter snakes in central Mexico

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Valencia-Flores ◽  
Crystian S Venegas-Barrera ◽  
Victor Fajardo ◽  
Javier Manjarrez
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Garter Snakes ◽  
Good Body Condition ◽  
Microgeographic Variation ◽  
Similar Body

Background. Geographic variation in body size and condition can reveal differential local adaptation to resource availability or climatic factors. Body size and condition are related to fitness in garter snakes (Thamnophis), thus good body condition may increase survival, fecundity in females, and mating success in males. Sympatric species are predicted to exhibit similar body condition when they experience similar environmental conditions. We focused on interspecific and geographical variation in body size and condition in three sympatric Mexican garter snakes from the highlands of Central Mexico. Methods. We assessed SVL, mass, and body condition (obtained from Major axis linear regression of ln-transformed body mass on ln-transformed SVL) in adults and juveniles of both sexes of Thamnophis eques, T. melanogaster, and T. scalaris sampled at different locations and over a 20-year period. Results. We provide a heterogeneous pattern of sexual and ontogenic reproductive status variations of body size and condition among local populations. Each garter snake species shows locations with good and poor body condition; juvenile snakes show similar body condition between populations, adults show varying body condition between populations, and adults also show sexual differences in body condition. We discuss variations in body condition as possibly related to the snakes’ life cycle differences.

scholarly journals Microgeographic variation in body condition of three Mexican garter snakes in central Mexico

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Valencia-Flores ◽  
Crystian S. Venegas-Barrera ◽  
Victor Fajardo ◽  
Javier Manjarrez
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Garter Snakes ◽  
Good Body Condition ◽  
Microgeographic Variation ◽  
Similar Body

BackgroundGeographic variation in body size and condition can reveal differential local adaptation to resource availability or climatic factors. Body size and condition are related to fitness in garter snakes (Thamnophis), thus good body condition may increase survival, fecundity in females, and mating success in males. Phylogenetically related species in sympatry are predicted to exhibit similar body condition when they experience similar environmental conditions. We focused on interspecific and geographical variation in body size and condition in three sympatric Mexican garter snakes from the highlands of Central Mexico.MethodsWe assessed SVL, mass, and body condition (obtained from Major axis linear regression of ln-transformed body mass on ln-transformed SVL) in adults and juveniles of both sexes ofThamnophis eques,T. melanogaster, andT. scalarissampled at different locations and ranges from 3–11 years over a 20-year period.ResultsWe provide a heterogeneous pattern of sexual and ontogenic reproductive status variations of body size and condition among local populations. Each garter snake species shows locations with good and poor body condition; juvenile snakes show similar body condition between populations, adults show varying body condition between populations, and adults also show sex differences in body condition. We discuss variations in body condition as possibly related to the snakes’ life cycle differences.

Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) with proportionally larger heads are in better condition

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Elgee ◽  
Gabriel Blouin-Demers
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Head Size ◽  
Thamnophis Sirtalis ◽  
Garter Snakes ◽  
Size Dimorphism ◽  
Trophic Morphology ◽  
Large Head ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractWe investigated sexual size dimorphism and trophic morphology dimorphism in Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) to test predictions derived from the reproductive role hypothesis. Our first objective was to examine whether structures involved in feeding (head and jaws) are more divergent than body size. Female T. sirtalis were larger than males and had proportionally larger heads. Our second objective was to look for an advantage of large head size by examining the relationship between body condition and head size. Body condition was positively correlated with relative head size in T. sirtalis for both sexes, in agreement with the reproductive role hypothesis.

Allometry and Paleoecology of Medial Miocene Dwarf Rhinoceroses from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain

Paleobiology ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Prothero ◽  
Paul C. Sereno
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Gulf Coastal Plain ◽  
Canine Tooth ◽  
Positive Allometry ◽  
Mammalian Faunas ◽  
The Common ◽  
Limb Proportions

Barstovian (medial Miocene) mammalian faunas from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain contained four apparently sympatric species of rhinoceroses: the common forms Aphelops megalodus and Teleoceras medicornutus, a dwarf Teleoceras, and a dwarf Peraceras. Previous work has suggested positive allometry in tooth area with respect to body size in several groups of mammals, i.e., larger mammals have relatively more tooth area. However, dwarfing lineages were shown to have relatively more tooth area for their body size. Our data show no significant allometry in post-canine tooth area of either artiodactyls or ceratomorphs. Similarly, dwarf rhinoceroses and hippopotami show no more tooth area than would be predicted for their size. Limbs are proportionately longer and more robust in larger living ceratomorphs (rhinos and tapirs) than predicted by previous authors. Limb proportions of both dwarf rhinoceroses and dwarf hippopotami are even more robust than in their living relatives.The high rhinoceros diversity reflects the overall high diversity of Barstovian faunas from the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain. The first appearance of several High Plains mammals in these faunas indicates “ecotone”-like conditions as faunal composition changed. Study of living continental dwarfs shows that there is commonly an ecological separation between browsing forest dwarfs and their larger forebears, which are frequently savannah grazers. This suggests that the dwarf rhinoceroses might have been forest browsers which were sympatric with the larger grazing rhinos of the High Plains during the Barstovian invasion. The continental dwarf model also suggests that insular dwarfism may be explained by the browsing food resources that predominate on islands.

scholarly journals The isotopic niche of Atlantic, biting marine mammals and its relationship to skull morphology and body size

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Drago ◽  
Marco Signaroli ◽  
Meica Valdivia ◽  
Enrique M. González ◽  
Asunción Borrell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management

AbstractUnderstanding the trophic niches of marine apex predators is necessary to understand interactions between species and to achieve sustainable, ecosystem-based fisheries management. Here, we review the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios for biting marine mammals inhabiting the Atlantic Ocean to test the hypothesis that the relative position of each species within the isospace is rather invariant and that common and predictable patterns of resource partitioning exists because of constrains imposed by body size and skull morphology. Furthermore, we analyze in detail two species-rich communities to test the hypotheses that marine mammals are gape limited and that trophic position increases with gape size. The isotopic niches of species were highly consistent across regions and the topology of the community within the isospace was well conserved across the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, pinnipeds exhibited a much lower diversity of isotopic niches than odontocetes. Results also revealed body size as a poor predictor of the isotopic niche, a modest role of skull morphology in determining it, no evidence of gape limitation and little overlap in the isotopic niche of sympatric species. The overall evidence suggests limited trophic flexibility for most species and low ecological redundancy, which should be considered for ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document